Posts

From the Dome Car: Train Nine, Track One (May-June, 1999)

Image
  As Morgan noted in this Dome Car, CRM was approaching a milestone: the 50 th issue. That might not seem like a big deal for magazines like Model Railroader, which was founded in 1934. But for a little Canadian magazine, it was a very big deal—and Morgan wanted to mark that occasion with a special give-away to readers. This issue also commemorated the death of Nicholas Morant, famous for taking photos of CPR trains at what became known as “Morant’s Curve.” Morgan took time to note his passing, too.   As most of our readers know, Canadian Railway Modeller magazine is quickly approaching some major milestones.   The issue after this one will be our 50th and, in appreciation of that fact, we have been offered a very unique gift that we have chosen to give away to one of our many readers. While attending the annual Toronto Train Show this year, I had the pleasure of meeting David Oram, one of Canada's newest artists. David has produced a beautiful painting of CNR 6258 a...
Post a Comment
Read more

From a different Dome Car: A reflection on the death of Morgan Turney, one year later

Image
On the first anniversary of Morgan's death, a few words of reflection and remembrance.  In journalism parlance, a character is someone with a distinctive personality, someone who stands out, who is memorable. Maybe even has rough edges, rubbing others the wrong way. But he (and it’s usually a he) is very good at their job.   In that respect, Morgan Turney was a character.   Morgan, who died a year ago today, Feb. 6, had a large personality — and a large vision to go along with it. He knew what he wanted, and he knew how to get it. Morgan and I got along, despite our differences. He was more conservative, I was more progressive. I was churchgoing, that wasn't his thing. He was forceful, I was more laid back. We were a bit of yin and yang—opposites who needed each other and helped each other along the way.   In my case, what I brought were my journalistic abilities. Morgan was a good writer, but his grammar wasn’t the best. At first, I volunteered to help him b...
Post a Comment
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 8 Track 6. (March-April, 1999)

Image
  Once again, I am showing my age when I talk about how we used to take photos of our layouts. Digital cameras existed in 1999, when this Dome Car was written (link below), but they didn’t take off as an inexpensive consumer item until the early 2000s. Until then, if you wanted to take a photo of your layout you used an SLR film camera, bracketing your shots by modifying the lighting (you needed portable lights, too!) and aperture settings in the hope that one would turn out. After taking the photos, it was off to a developer and then wait a few days or more to see the results. Nothing like today, with our phone cameras which do a great job of model photography! Anyway, that’s all just an introduction to this month’s Dome Car, where Morgan explains the CRM photo contest.   Readers will notice an article in this issue about taking modelling photos. I asked Bob Winterton to do it for us, in support of the Modeller' s Photo contest we have running right now.   Since ...
Post a Comment
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 8 Track 5 (January-February, 1999)

Image
  It’s hard to believe now, since DCC is so common, that there was a time just 27 years ago when the technology was relatively new and people were wondering if it was right for them. That’s the topic I addressed in this Dome Car. As it turned out, I never adopted it, preferring block control even though I had a large double-deck layout and over 40 locomotives. (And I still use DC on my current layout, the Gateway Spur.) Anyone else out there still using only DC? To DCC or not to DCC? That's the question William Shakespeare might have asked if he were a model railroader.   On the one hand, Digital Command Control offers freedom: No more blocks to throw, no more "Who's got my train?" being yelled across the layout room.   On the other hand, there's the cost of the units, throttles and decoders for the locomotives. It can add up pretty quickly, even for a small layout.   And there's the rub, to stay with our Shakespearean theme: Because of the freedom it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 8, Track 4 (November-December, 1998)

Image
  Who remembers the President’s Choice CPR camelback steam locomotive? And who knew it had a 24-karat gold plated bell? (Not me.) If you have one, maybe you might want to see how much that bell is worth today! Of course, the CPR never had any camelbacks. But a kid waking up to a train set under the Christmas tree wouldn’t care—and that was the point Morgan was making in this Dome Car as he praised President’s Choice trainset creator Boris Polakow for his contribution to the hobby in Canada. Anyone still have that set?   You know Christmas is just around the corner when you see the President's Choice annual train set appear in grocery supermarkets across Canada! It's like seeing next year's calendars.   Yes indeed, Boris Polakow, Vice President of Canadian Sales Development for Loblaws Private Label has done it again—he's produced the sixth collector series of President's Choice train sets.   This year's set is a 2-6-0 Canadian Pacific 'Camelback' l...
Post a Comment
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 8 Track 3 (September-October, 1998)

Image
    In this Dome Car, Morgan excitedly announces that the NMRA will hold its annual convention in Toronto in 2003. Anyone remember it? It was called the Maple Leaf. (The NMRA has held its convention in Canada six times going back to 1953: In Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and, in 1983, right here in Winnipeg where I live.) That 2003 convention was severely impacted by the SARs epidemic in Toronto that year, putting a huge dent in attendance from the U.S. But I still went and had a good time. Anyone else attend that convention?   Here's a BIG news flash: The NMRA National Convention is coming to Canada in the year 2003! The Maple Leaf 2003 NMRA National Convention, to be hosted by the Niagara Frontier Region of the NMRA (NFR/NMRA), will be held in Toronto, with dates to be announced later.   Now, that may seem like a long way off, but from my experience—and I'm sure yours too—it will be here before we know it.   Our sincere congratulations to the...
Post a Comment
Read more

From the Dome Car: Train 8 Track 2 (July-August, 1998)

Image
  Today, when almost everyone is connected to the Internet, it's like visiting ancient times to r ead Morgan’s comments in 1998 about the impact of this new thing called the World Wide Web. At that time, the public Internet was just seven years old. (I made my first website in 1994, when there were about 3,000 websites in the world.) H is idea for printing links in CRM makes us smile now . But back then we were all sort of wide-eyed and amazed by what the Web was and could do. Morgan's wonder at this new technology would eventually make him bitter and disappointed since it would end up s pelling the end CRM (and many other print publications). But he didn’t know that when he wrote this Dome Car—nobody did.   The Internet seems to be everywhere these days. More and more of us are 'getting on the net' with personal sites, 'unofficial' prototype train sites, train club sites, muse [1] ums and manufacturer sites. The list seems endless! The last time I took a tour...
Post a Comment
Read more